Rave Review’s Josephine Bergqvist and Livia Schück have been on quite a roller coaster ride. They’ve experienced the high of being semifinalists for the LVMH Prize and the lows of pandemic. Both designers got sick with COVID-19, one with a confirmed case and the other with a suspected one. Thankfully they were back in fine form when they gave Vogue a Zoom preview of a diverse spring collection with many sections.
One of those sections featured the spray/stencil technique that the designers often use to ensure that their upcycled fabrics don’t feel too retro. “Spray really makes them more modern,” noted Schück who has the youthfulness to carry off a stenciled shirt from an earlier season. Overall, the collection had a salad days vibe. The most grown-up looks were the outerwear pieces, one of the brand’s strongest categories. A coat made using an astronomical-themed blanket was especially fetching.
Upcycling, which is the beating heart of Rave Review, lends itself to a cut-and-paste sort of aesthetic and it requires the designers to be creative about construction. Bergqvist and Schück puzzled oddly shaped panels together using intricate seaming that looked great up-close, and took advantage of natural asymmetries when placing closures. Things got a bit complicated when cut-outs were thrown into paneled pieces where there was already a lot going on; pieced dresses paired with patterned stockings hit a better balance.
Some of the best looks, informed perhaps by Bergqvist’s recent trip to Brazil, had a getaway theme and made great use of terry. The pair’s use of sunsets, palm trees, and tourist motifs added an air of permanent vacation and the frayed edges on these summery pieces gave them the feeling of the homemade.
Home textiles are the basis for many Rave Review designs and for spring the team made use of patterned sheets from the 1970s. These were in abundant supply, explained Berqvist, because the decade was a “prime time for good quality [linens] made in Sweden,” and people saved them. The colors and patterns of those materials naturally lent themselves to languid 1970s silhouettes—there were nods to the ’80s and ’90s as well—but more importantly they spoke to the larger themes of the collection: nostalgia and escapism. Looking back at the 1970s, noted Schück, “with the hippie movement and free love, it seems like a very nice time to live.”
Nostalgia is built into everything that Rave Review does, but this season the designers’ reminiscences were more personal; they went back to their own childhoods, while at the same time looking at the idea in a broader way. Disney princesses inspired puff sleeves, and also appeared with other cartoon motifs on some of the standout pieces, probably because they spoke most strongly to the urge to break with reality. “I guess it’s like an escape back and into something almost like a fantasy world,” said Schück of the season’s mood. At its best the collection was a one-way ticket there.
See every single look from Rave Review STOCKHOLM SPRING 2021 Collection in the gallery, below :
source: Vogue
